City should explain costs

When City Council reconsiders the Fourth or Fifth Street Mall crossing, could it also please provide details explaining the estimated $800,000-$970,000 (just shy of $1 million) price tag?

Two other articles in the January 19 issue of the Hook list costs for the elegant New Street Garage in Staunton and the North Grounds Connector– surely involving far more time, space, and heavy lifting– as only about four times as much as that estimated to enable a brief trip across the narrow Mall. The Garage and NGC also have vastly more to show for their investment.

As a whimsical start toward fiscal sanity, a local kindergarten class might enjoy trying its hands– guided, of course– at a "paint the (pedestrian) lines" field trip at whichever crossing is eventually chosen.